Weather
Tropical Storm Fred To Bring 2-4 Feet Of Storm Surge To Panhandle
Residents in the Florida Panhandle are scrambling to the pile sandbags around their homes and businesses as Tropical Storm Fred approaches.
FLORIDA — Residents in the Florida Panhandle are scrambling to the pile sandbags around their homes and businesses as Tropical Storm Fred continues moving north-northwest over the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Fred is now located 205 miles southwest of Tampa and 320 miles south-southeast of Pensacola moving about 12 mph with sustained winds of 40 mph. Tropical storm-force winds extend up to 80 miles from the center.
A storm surge watch is in effect for the coast of the Panhandle from Indian Pass to the Steinhatchee River and a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Panhandle from Navarre to the Wakulla/Jefferson County line.
Find out what's happening in Pensacolafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Stay tuned to Patch for updates on Tropical Storm Fred. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter.
A storm surge warning means there is a danger of life-threatening inundation from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the next 36 hours and a tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected in the next 24 hours.
Find out what's happening in Pensacolafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
There is also a tropical storm watch in effect for the Florida Panhandle from the Alabama/Florida border to Navarre, indicated that tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 36 hours.
According to the National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. advisory, Fred is expected to continue north-northwest on Sunday and then turn north on Monday.
On the forecast track, the center of Fred should move across the eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico through Monday, then make landfall in the western Florida Panhandle Monday
afternoon or Monday night.
Gradual strengthening is expected until landfall. Then Fred is expected to weaken quickly after moving inland.
National Hurricane Center forecasters said the combination of dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach 2 to 4 feet above high tide from Indian Pass to the Steinhatchee River and 1 to 3 feet from the Alabama/Florida border to Indian Pass, including Pensacola Bay, Choctawhatchee Bay and Saint Andrew Bay.
The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large waves.
In the meantime, Tropical Storm Grace remains a disorganized system, with no definite center and there is a great deal of uncertainty in the storm's intensity.
The National Hurricane Center will have more details when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunter aircraft fly into Grace Sunday afternoon.
Grace is currently bringing locally heavy rains to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Located 145 miles south-southwest of Puerto Rico, the storm has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Tropical Storm Grace is moving west-northwest at about 16 mph and tropical storm winds extend 35 miles out.
See related stories:
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.